Podcast: The Daily Stoic
Episode: Francis Ford Coppola's First Podcast: How Philosophy Has Inspired His Life and Career
Here’s a list of all the books mentioned in this episode, complete with an Amazon buy link and quotes from the episode.
The Storm Before the Storm
Buy on Amazon"One of my favorite books is called "The Storm Before the Storm," and the idea is that we just see Caesar crossing the Rubicon one day as if it just popped into his head, as if there wasn't all this history and all these other events leading up to this major event."
Burr
Buy on Amazon"By the way, have you ever read Gore Vidal's book on Aaron Burr? No, that's another great book."
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
Buy on Amazon"There's a wonderful book that I recommend to you that you'll thank me a million times for; it's called "The Swerve." Have you ever heard of it?"
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare (Anniversary Edition)
Buy on Amazon"All right, let's talk because you mentioned Shakespeare. Greenblatt wrote this amazing book called "Will in the World" that I found incredible."
Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics
Buy on Amazon"He has a book called "Tyrant" as well, which I loved, but I was thinking there's a common theme between this movie and Apocalypse Now, as well as the theme of Shakespeare: the ability to find old stories and place them in a new context while preserving the arcs, characters, and morals."
Ideal and Actual in the Story of the Stone
Buy on Amazon"For example, one time I chose a great Chinese book called "The Story of the Stone" or "Dream of the Red Mansion" written in the 16th century. I found myself trying to change Megalopolis to be more like that, which I actually did, because that was one of the few books I ever read where the dream life of the characters was as important as their waking life."
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship
Buy on Amazon"He wrote a book called "Wilhelm Meister" and that was him stealing from Shakespeare. That is Goethe saying, "I want to be as much like Shakespeare as I can be," while Shakespeare was stealing from Plutarch, from Montaigne, from Danish legends, and from other plays—everyone has been stealing from one another."
Papyrus
Buy on Amazon"I was just reading a book called "Papyrus," which covers the history of paper and early writings. One of the things the author notes is that scrolls, because they weren't books, were stored in specific boxes that often held seven scrolls."
Shahnameh
Buy on Amazon"Have you ever read that beautiful Persian book called the Shahnameh by Ferdowsi? No, that's like Gilgamesh! It's an early Persian epic, and it's great—a tale of kings!"
Tender is the Night
Buy on Amazon"That it wasn't successful at first, so he and his editor straightened out something, I guess, I don't know which version I have. But I think what's unusual is that in the original 'Tender Is the Night,' there's a huge flashback in the middle of it that goes back and tells the story of Nicole and Dick Diver."
Antkind
Buy on Amazon"Sure, he wrote a book, a novel called 'Antkind,' a seven- or eight-hundred-page book called 'Antkind.' And that's what Google said: if you want to read something about being a... so I got it, and damned, if you know, as I said, everything I read changes my movie, but this book is changing my life because it's so, I finished it after 750 pages, and it was not unsatisfying."
De Bello Gallico Libri Vii.
Buy on Amazon"Well, the schoolboys in the founding of our nation were reading Caesar and the Gallic Wars. They knew it all by heart."
A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake
Buy on Amazon"And maybe a period where it's an apparent disaster, but over time, you know, I once read an article that James Joyce was talking about 'Finnegans Wake.' And he said, 'I'm going to put so much interesting stuff in this that it's going to take, you know, uh, 50 years for people to figure out what's in it and it'll sell the whole time.'"